Fortunately for the sanity of the expedition, so far, that was the only destroyed village we happened to come across.

  Unfortunately, that meant we needed to give every village, town, and settlement we happened to come across along the merchant roads a wide berth. Which was a tad difficult, considering they were the main, logical places in which to find a place to live in the first place. It only made sense, after all, to build upon the route in which supplies travelled, and Principality forces actively patrolled, in better times.

  In practice, what that meant was that the expedition had to go off-road periodically to avoid alerting the settlements to their presence. This could be a little hazardous, at times, considering wooden carts and wagons were really not designed for rough country. Oh, sure, they could do it, even massive beasts like the Ashen Bride had been converted into were capable of rattling through rocky terrain.

  If you were willing to take the risk of broken axles and wheels when they rolled over a stone that was a bit too unevenly shaped, that is.

  That had happened…more than a few times, so far. Thankfully, there were some skilled Carpenters among the soldiery, and that wasn’t even counting my own personal crafting skills. I had to admit to a bit of pride, hearing the wonder and bafflement from my soldiers the first time I mended an axle with the flashy show that Aetherial Mending could sometimes be.

  Not only that, but there were certain times you had to get out and push as well. Especially after days when it rained. I had been a bit irked to discover that Velancia still received regular rain during their Fall season. Compounding the matter, it was genuinely difficult to tell when it was going to rain under the eternally overcast Skyfall, especially when the wind was generally dead.

  On the other hand, though, we had grown used to the increased monster presence that was always lurking at the borders of the wards. We had, perhaps, even grown a bit accustomed to them. Most people had chosen to view them as free level Aether to fuel their growth for the battles to come. Sylvia and I had even taken advantage of one of the culling slots that were being raffled off for a bit of…free time, just to ourselves.

  The walls in the tiny cabin we shared aboard the Ashen Bride with Fade were a bit thin, after all. Still, we were lucky to have it at all, considering many members of the expedition were forced to either sleep within the secondary carts, in tents around the barge-like land vehicle, or out underneath the stars.

  In the meantime, everyone did not doubt that there were going to be further battles ahead. Likely much more fraught than the skirmish we’d had with Bronzle and his fleet. The extra Aether to fuel our Statuses was welcome.

  Which brought us to now. It had been several days of overland travel by this point, and according to our reluctant Dwarven captive, we were making good time. This stretch of Velancia, situated right above the Barren Forest, was slightly thinner in width across the continent. We’d been traveling for nearly a week now, and if we continued at this pace, we might just reach Rhoscara after another week and a half or so of travel east, and then a few days north.

  However…

  Something else had caught our attention. We had stopped right in the middle of a road that ran through a small forest to assess the situation. I stood on the command deck, surrounded by the rest of the command staff, as an out-of-breath scout pantingly relayed his report.

  “We think…it’s a large woodcutters camp…” The young Gnoll male panted out, accepting a canteen of water from a strangely compassionate Marcel. For all of his genuine incompetence towards his own family, the Gnoll Commandant was actually a good leader to his men. “Dwarven, just within the range of the APD’s. Maybe…two miles out? They’re under attack by…I don’t know, maybe several hundred monsters? A small horde, at the very least. They’re fighting back, but not fast enough to keep numbers down before more monsters arrive. They’re going to be overrun before long. As soon as we found them,” He nodded to his partner, a stoic, wood-patterned Sculpted woman standing at attention off to the side. “We sprinted back as fast as we could.”

  I frowned deeply, crossing my arms as I did so. I wasn’t the only one troubled by the news, either, as Nyx had an outright scowl on her face, while Gustave just looked troubled. Even Bella looked uncomfortable at the news that a pack of non-combatants was at risk.

  And then Marcel managed to ruin the compassionate air he had projected, the next time he opened his mouth. “Unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do,” He said, with a callous shrug of his furry shoulders. “We are not bound to assist the people of Velancia. Our goal is much larger than a bunch of woodcutters.”

  My cheek twitched at his words. Around me, I could see more than a few people scowling at the aged Gnoll’s words. I was a bit gratified to notice most of them were coming from Polaris Reach members.

  Well, I wasn’t surprised to see Renauld pissed. He seemed to be in a constant state of scorn in regard to his Father, these days.

  Almost instinctively, my eyes darted over to the side, and I found myself staring at Maria. My eyes met hers, and I discovered she had already been watching me with a calm, expectant look in her eyes.

  Stolen story; please report.

  I may be the leader of the Polaris Reach, and Isolde my second in command. But as the head of the Stewards, Maria was the moral heart of the organization.

  A strange fate, for a woman who had formerly been a long-range assassin.

  I let a short breath escape me. “…to save people, and not to kill them,” I whispered to myself, almost absentmindedly. I shook my troubled thoughts off and straightened up. “We’re going to save them.”

  The command deck fell silent at my firm, authoritative command, and I saw Maria smile slightly out of the corner of my eye. At the same time, I felt cool, familiar fingers ghost over my palm, in an almost approving manner from the woman who literally had my back at the moment.

  “…we won’t get there fast enough with the ship,” Sylvia spoke up from behind me. “We’ll need to assemble a platoon of Classers. People who can move fast and hit hard.”

  I first met the eyes of the startled Gnoll scout, and then the Sculpted one, who looked much more satisfied than she had moments before. She was one of mine, after all. “You two, can you lead us back to this camp?”

  The wooden scout nodded briskly. “Yes, Marshall. It won’t be a problem. Will it, Bart?”

  Her partner the Gnoll, apparently named Bart, sighed and nodded. “Yes, we can do it. Just…let me get an energy potion, first.”

  I nodded sharply and then turned on a heel to look Sylvia in her cool blue eyes. “Sylvia, you go and assemble a platoon. Call for volunteers, and take them,” I jerked a thumb over my shoulder. “With you. Renauld, are you com-”

  “Of course I am,” My Healer friend and comrade interrupted me, in an indignant tone. He shot one last glare at his Father and then turned to leave. “Let me go get ready, and I’ll get a few other battle-tested Healers to come with us. We don’t know what shape these people are in.”

  As Sylvia and Renauld raced away, Maria joining them at her own initiative, Gustave suddenly spoke up in an excited tone. “Let me come too, Marshal!” He said, looking incredibly relieved that we weren’t going to leave these people to die a horrible death. “I can rally a squad of Classer-level soldiers in five minutes, I promise you!”

  “Then go.”

  And he did, outright vaulting over the railing of the command deck to fall to the ground far below.

  He’d be fine.

  I moved to leave as well, since I still needed to get prepared, but I paused before I did.

  And decided to extend the slightest of olive branches.

  I looked over my shoulder and met the eyes of the woman standing on the other side of the deck. “Bella, are you coming?”

  The pirate Captain studied me for a moment and then nodded. Maybe it was my imagination…

  But I thought I detected a hint of relief in her stormy blue gaze.

  “Aye, I’ll come. I’ll go rally a few o' the boys, too,” Bella said, with a crooked grin. “We’ll have a grand ol' time.” She then fell back over the railing she was leaning against, flipping as she did, and in moments had disappeared over it. I still heard her start hollering for her men, though.

  As I raced away, I spared only a single command for the flabbergasted form of Marcel, who was still standing shocked on the command deck of his own ship. “Get the expedition moving after us, once we leave.”

  And then I was gone.

  I think…he hadn’t expected everyone to immediately rally to the defense of strangers. Strangers from a hostile country we were technically invading right now, too.

  How odd.

  It was like he didn’t even know us.

  ……………………………..

  Once I had suited up in my combat uniform and called Fade to my side, the two of us raced down to the meeting point I’d designated near the front of the procession. Already, there were dozens and dozens of people gathering there for the assault.

  More arrived every moment. Funny enough, I spotted Meia Itzelan among their number.

  I…hadn’t expected the half-Orc woman to care about the lives of random civilians like that. Perhaps that was a bit callous of me.

  But I was glad to have her nonetheless.

  I only allowed volunteers to stream in for another five minutes after I arrived, and in that time, all of my personal friends and comrades had arrived, ready for battle. By my quick count, we had gathered maybe around a hundred volunteers to help save these Dwarfs, give or take a few.

  A good amount. I was proud of each and every one of them.

  And then I gave the order to move out, and the two scouts who had alerted us to the Dwarven camp immediately burst out into startlingly fast runs.

  Over a hundred different Classers, Soldiers, and Order members activated physical enhancement Spells, Skills, and Arts all at once, and we sprinted after them.

  Into the forest.

  …………………………

  We heard the struggle of the Dwarves before we saw them. The din of the baying monsters was loud enough to echo through the wood around us, their hungry voices only matched by the battle cries of those they were assaulting. Surprised stragglers of the horde were cut down all around me by my soldiers, as we all sprinted towards the sound of battle before us.

  And then we burst into a large clearing, girt by dozens and dozens of tree stumps. The mournful, grey light of the Skyfall streamed in from the massive opening in the canopy, illuminating the space. Piles of lumber lay in once neat stacks about the clearing, now seemingly falling over from neglect. But none of that was important to me.

  It was the collection of log houses arrayed in a half circle across the clearing, along one edge. There had to be five-no, six of them, each the size of an actual house and not at all looking like temporary dwellings. There was a large, perpetually burning bonfire in the center of it…as well as what had to be over three hundred different monsters clawing at the dome shield of wards protecting the small hamlet.

  Within that shield were dozens and dozens of Dwarves of all shapes and sizes, fighting off a group of monsters that seemed to have pushed their way through the barrier of their wards. These Dwarves didn’t seem like warriors or soldiers, to my eyes. They fought with lumber axes and hunting spears, while others stood in the back plinking away with limp, fraying bows.

  Over their heads, I could see tiny eyes peering, frightened, over the windowsills as their family fought desperately against the coming tide of death.

  My lip curled up into a snarl, and as I drew my staff from its holster on my back, I activated The Scintillant Blade for the first time in over half a year. I channeled the unique Precursor racial Skill through the wooden haft, shaped by the boney fingers of a still missing Lich, and from the amber capstone, the long blade of a sword formed. Shaped from cascading rainbow fire, it almost seemed to dispel the dour light of the Skyfall around us.

  And then I bellowed a command to my forces.

  “CHARGE!”

  As my soldiers obeyed me with a raucous cheer, I activated Vis Maledicta Exactoris, and as I exploded to my full transformed height, I beat my wings in a forward propulsive manner.

  And crashed into the back line of the monsters in a flurry of flames and scales.